IRS NOTICE REFERENCE
Understanding your LT38 notice
If you received a LT38 notice, it's letting you know that during the pandemic some collection notices were suspended. However, we're resuming normal operations and providing you with an update on your outstanding balance…
General information only. Not legal or tax advice.
Notice details
- Notice code
- LT38
- Category
- Balance due and collection
- Severity tier
- Tier 2 — Action or response expected. The IRS has taken or proposed an action and expects a response or payment.
- Governing law
- §6303; §6321 (Internal Revenue Code sections)
- Source
- IRS.gov — Understanding Your IRS Notice
What this notice is
If you received a LT38 notice, it's letting you know that during the pandemic some collection notices were suspended. However, we're resuming normal operations and providing you with an update on your outstanding balance to help you stay informed and offer you self-service options to resolve your account. This isn't an audit. It's always in your best interest to pay in full as soon as you can to minimize interest and penalties. The IRS has information and options available to help you meet and understand your tax responsibilities.
Source: IRS.gov. Reproduced for reference. General information — not legal or tax advice.
What the IRS says to do
Read your notice carefully: Follow the instructions on your notice. File missing tax returns (if any): If your notice indicates you have missing tax returns, file the missing returns as soon as possible. See frequently asked questions below for more information on how to file your return. Pay your unpaid balance: Interest and applicable penalties will stop accruing as soon as you pay your balance in full. You can quickly and easily pay your balance online . See your Online Account to learn how to determine your balance. If you can't pay the balance due: and you're current with your filing obligations: See the frequently asked questions below.
This is the IRS’s own guidance reproduced from the IRS notice page. It describes the IRS’s process — it is not legal or tax advice from TaxRiskOS.
Governing IRS procedure (Internal Revenue Manual)
The IRS’s own internal procedures for handling this notice type are documented in the Internal Revenue Manual:
- IRM 5.19.1 — 5.19.1 Balance Due
- IRM 5.19.4 — 5.19.4 Enforcement Action
- IRM 5.1.1 — 5.1.1 Miscellaneous Collection Procedures
Reference to published IRS procedure. General information — not legal or tax advice.
Official IRS reference
Read the official notice page on IRS.gov: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-lt38-notice
Related tools
TaxRiskOS is workflow software for practitioners — it captures the notice, computes the deadline, surfaces the escalation tier, and builds a document checklist. It documents process; it does not give advice or draft responses.
Check this notice’s deadline (free tool)